When the Nazis Came to Skokie: Freedom for Speech We Hate

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Overview

When the Nazis Came to Skokie: Freedom for Speech We Hate by Philippa Strum

"A meticulous and graceful narrative of one of the most gripping free speech conflicts of modern times."Rodney A. Smolla, author of Free Speech in an Open Society

"Strum succeeds brilliantly in telling the two stories of Skokie-the constitutional struggle over free speech and the human agony and conflict that permeated it. In clear, rigorous, and vivid prose, she recreates the legal and political culture when the case arose in the 1970s and then shows how more recent intellectual theories bear on what happened. A simply wonderful book."Norman Dorsen, Stokes Professor, NYU, and president, ACLU, 1976-1991

"Strum paints a remarkably complete picture of the entire Skokie controversy and helps put the debate over the First Amendment protection for 'hate speech' into meaningful perspective."David Goldberger, Ohio State University College of Law professor and former ACLU attorney for Frank Collin and the National Socialist Party of America

"A book that students will read eagerly and that teachers will find a pleasure to use."Melvin I. Urofsky, author of Affirmative Action on Trial: Sex Discrimination in Johnson v. Santa Clara

Author Biography: Philippa Strum, professor of political science at the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, is author of numerous books, including Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism, Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People, The Supreme Court and "Political Questions," and Presidential Power and American Democracy.

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"A meticulous and graceful narrative of one of the most gripping free speech conflicts of modern times."Rodney A. Smolla, author of Free Speech in an Open Society

"Strum succeeds brilliantly in telling the two stories of Skokie-the constitutional struggle over free speech and the human agony and conflict that permeated it. In clear, rigorous, and vivid prose, she recreates the legal and political culture when the case arose in the 1970s and then shows how more recent intellectual theories bear on what happened. A simply wonderful book."Norman Dorsen, Stokes Professor, NYU, and president, ACLU, 1976-1991

"Strum paints a remarkably complete picture of the entire Skokie controversy and helps put the debate over the First Amendment protection for 'hate speech' into meaningful perspective."David Goldberger, Ohio State University College of Law professor and former ACLU attorney for Frank Collin and the National Socialist Party of America

"A book that students will read eagerly and that teachers will find a pleasure to use."Melvin I. Urofsky, author of Affirmative Action on Trial: Sex Discrimination in Johnson v. Santa Clara

Author Biography: Philippa Strum, professor of political science at the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, is author of numerous books, including Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism, Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People, The Supreme Court and "Political Questions," and Presidential Power and American Democracy.

First Chapter

"A meticulous and graceful narrative of one of the most gripping free speech conflicts of modern times."Rodney A. Smolla, author of Free Speech in an Open Society

"Strum succeeds brilliantly in telling the two stories of Skokie-the constitutional struggle over free speech and the human agony and conflict that permeated it. In clear, rigorous, and vivid prose, she recreates the legal and political culture when the case arose in the 1970s and then shows how more recent intellectual theories bear on what happened. A simply wonderful book."Norman Dorsen, Stokes Professor, NYU, and president, ACLU, 1976-1991

"Strum paints a remarkably complete picture of the entire Skokie controversy and helps put the debate over the First Amendment protection for 'hate speech' into meaningful perspective."David Goldberger, Ohio State University College of Law professor and former ACLU attorney for Frank Collin and the National Socialist Party of America

"A book that students will read eagerly and that teachers will find a pleasure to use."Melvin I. Urofsky, author of Affirmative Action on Trial: Sex Discrimination in Johnson v. Santa Clara

Author Biography: Philippa Strum, professor of political science at the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, is author of numerous books, including Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism, Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People, The Supreme Court and "Political Questions," and Presidential Power and American Democracy.

Editorial Reviews

Strum (political science, CUNY) details the protracted legal battle between the city of Skokie and the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1977 and 1978. At issue was the right of the National Socialist Party of America, a neo-Nazi group, to stage an anti-Jewish demonstration in a suburban Chicago community whose population consisted substantially of Holocaust survivors. Skokie v. Collin became a classic First Amendment dispute, and Strum carefully and methodically traces the history and issues of the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Also insightful is Strum's treatment of the impact of the case on the ACLU and its Illinois chapter, which brought suit on behalf of the protest group's leader, Frank Collin. Citing Collin's First Amendment right to free speech, the ACLU was defending its cardinal principle. The paradox of the ACLU supporting a client with abhorrent views is a theme that pervades the book. Recommended for anyone seeking perspective on the First Amendment.--Philip Young Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Lib., New York

Library Journal

Strum (political science, City U. of New York-Brooklyn) describes the events when a neo-Nazi group announced it would parade in the Chicago suburb in 1977, and the ensuing court case that tested the devotion of many to the principles of free speech. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)